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Belly Posted 18 years ago
Grammar

Can I change from "If I were him" to "Were I him"? I thought it was a little awkward...

0Can I change from "If I were him" to "Were I him"? I thought it was a little awkward...0-
  

Top answer

02br 00Yes, I think so, but I am muddled by my preference for 01i 00If I were he, Were I he02i 00 -- as long as you wish to use the more formal subjunctive, I would use the seemingly more formal nominative pronoun. 02br 02i 00 0-

— Mister Micawber

  • 02br 00Yes, I think so, but I am muddled by my preference for 01i 00If I were he, Were I he02i 00 -- as long as you wish to use the more formal subjunctive, I would use the seemingly more formal nominative pronoun.
  • 02br 02i 00 0-
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3 Answers
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0 .02br
00Yes, I think so, but I am muddled by my preference for 01i00If I were he, Were I he02i00 -- as long as you wish to use the more formal subjunctive, I would use the seemingly more formal nominative pronoun. Informal:01i00 If I was him...02br
02i00 0-
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0No, I wouldn't change it. "Were I he/him" is quite rare, while these are more popular: 02br
00 7 from bbc.co.uk for "if I were he"02br
00 154 from bbc.co.uk for "if I were him"02br
02br
00 72 from nytimes.com for "if I were he"02br
00 479 from nytimes.com for "if I were him"02br
00This is one of the few reasonable ones
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0'Were I him ...' is emphatic inversion. It is quite correct if it is used approprietly.02br
02br
00I think, 'If I were he' is American. When you call them, they say 'This is he'. 0-
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